


Happy, Safe, Love, Makkachin

by SoYoureClairevoyant



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Hurt & Comfort, I’m so sorry, M/M, Makkachin POV, the dog dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27392038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoYoureClairevoyant/pseuds/SoYoureClairevoyant
Summary: Makkachin’s life and love
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Makkachin & Victor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Makkachin & Victor Nikiforov, Makkachin & Yuri Katsuki
Comments: 15
Kudos: 49





	Happy, Safe, Love, Makkachin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shamelessllamapeanutthing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shamelessllamapeanutthing/gifts).



> I’m so sorry. Shamelessllamapeanutthing made me do it. If you have a dog, go hug them and cherish them always. 
> 
> Good luck.

When I met My Victor, I was still little, but I remember it clearly.

Long fingers covered in pale lavender bruises lifted me from the pile of my sleepy brothers and sisters and held me up so I could see out of the whelping box. I saw bright blue eyes and a smile shaped like one of those cartoon hearts. Long silver fur, different from my boring brown, flowed over his shoulder like a waterfall. This human seemed nice, warm and friendly. He booped my nose and made the soft sounds Mama told us were the “good girl noises.” I liked it immediately. I liked his voice, the way it dipped and rose with expression and warmth. It felt nice, like something my mama would do with her noises when she was done grooming us. I yipped and told him so, but I guessed he didn’t speak the same language because he just laughed and clipped something around my neck. It jingled when I walked, and I got so excited, I had to show Mama. She called it a “collar.”

Mama sniffed me and nosed my new accessory, giving me one last once-over and making sure all my curls were tidy and clean. She told me that she loved me and would always love me, but that this boy needed me more than she did. He was going to take me home with him, and it would be my job for the rest of my life to make sure he knew he was happy and safe and loved. I would grow to love him dearly, she told me, just like how Her Petra and Her Mikhail loved her and she loved them. She told me to be myself and help him when I could, however I could. I made a promise to my human that day. As long as I could, I would make him happy. The silly human still didn’t understand, but he picked me up again and cradled me close and whispered a new, beautiful word that would become very important to me - Makkachin. He christened me His Makkachin, and I found out later he was called Victor. My Victor.

We had so much fun in those early days, me and My Victor, and we grew to love each other just like Mama said. He made me feel so at home with my own big bed and fresh food and water, new toys and a safe space he called “kennel.” I grew taller and longer and stronger, and it became easier to keep up with My Victor’s long legs. We spent the warm season running all through the city, until I could tell where we were by the sounds of the river or the smell of ice. 

My Victor has always loved the ice. I know because he told me so, and on a few occasions showed me. He makes pretty shapes and moves like water on very sharp knife shoes. I was never allowed to touch the knife shoes, I remember that clearly. I tried once and he shouted the naughty word for “don’t do that,” but i could smell the fear in it. He was scared for me, for my safety. My Victor’s hands picked me up and shut me behind a door, but I could hear him reprimanding himself for leaving them where I could see and touch. I was let out once I heard the big red bag go ‘zip.’ From then on, it stayed at the palace.

As much time as My Victor spent with me, he spent even more time there. I was convinced he was some kind of prince, destined to wear his sparkly fur and flower crown and dance on his knife shoes for all of the world. Sometimes, when I was a very good girl, I got to go with My Victor to the palace. I met lots of people like The Yakov, who smelled like determination and hard work, but did the pets with soft hands and a distracted gaze. I met The Mila with the red hair, who liked to laugh and smile and smoosh my face into funny shapes, and The Georgi, who always had something to cry about into my fur. A long time later, I would meet The Yura, who dressed in loud clothes and had a very wise cat named Miss Potya. They were wonderful, but I never really saw them outside of the palace.

When it started to get cold that first year, My Victor spent even more time making the shapes, but he always made time for me early in the morning and when he came home at night. We walked around our city during the day and we cuddled together in the evening, and I got to keep my promise and make him feel happy and safe and loved. Then it got even colder, and My Victor sat me down and told me a very important word - Trip. A Trip for My Victor meant he packed a bag with his sparkly fur and hugged me close, whispering my good girl words. I wagged my tail for him. He liked it when I wagged my tail and boofed at him. It made the heart-shape on his face come back. He would laugh and hug me again, and I made sure his face was clean before A Trip, and he’d laugh even harder. Then he’d pull his bags out the door and lock it, calling my name once more before I heard him make his way downstairs.

I wasn’t alone, though! I made new friends with the human who lived downstairs. The Vanya was very nice. She fed me and walked me, and I waited by the window every day for My Victor to come home, just like I knew he would. Only a few sleeps later and he’d be back, unlocking the door and rolling on the floor so I could clean the strange smells off of him. He’d take me to our park and let me run and he’d chase after me until we were both happy and tired. When we got home, he would always show me a shiny circle on a ribbon and make the good girl noises into my fur and then lock it away in the room with the removable fur.

But My Victor changed after a while.

He still made the shapes on the knife shoes and walked me and fed me and cuddled me, but he stopped smelling like roses and cedar and sunshine. He came home one day without his waterfall hair and a bag of new fur that made him look taller and more serious. He spent a lot of time with me in the quiet of our house, watching the little brick that usually made voices that sounded like The Yakov or The Chris. (I liked The Chris. He was a very funny human with his naughty drinks and silly sounds.) Only the voices wouldn’t come out of the brick. Just pictures and scribbles and moving pictures without sound. My Victor was sad, and despite my best efforts - my best cuddles, my best boofs, my best funny faces - I couldn’t change it. 

I lay on him one evening at the end of cold season, trying my best to keep My Victor warm and remind him that he was loved, when he froze watching his brick. I felt it. For a moment, I smelled roses and beat my tail on the sofa, I was so happy. When I looked at My Victor to see what made him change, he got up and said the important word. A Trip. A Trip for My Victor and Makka. He went to his closet and pulled out all sorts of fur, threw them into a big bag for himself. Then he went to my bed and grabbed my dishes, my favorite toys, and even my kennel and packed them away too. The next day we were sorted into a metal tube that made a funny noise and made my ears hurt. Luckily, I knew My Victor was safe and we’d be reunited again soon. Seemed like I had only just fallen asleep when I jolted awake and met him at another metal tube that was bound for the ocean.

Oh, that ocean. It smelled salty and fresh and new. I couldn’t wait to romp around in the water, so different from the dirty river by the palace. My Victor took me all the way to where the ocean surrounded us on all sides, and even got us a bed to sleep in while we were there. He said wait a lot that night, so we waited - My Victor in the warm water outside and me at the front door so I could protect him. I didn’t need to worry, though, because these new people would never hurt My Victor. Especially not the one that came trudging through the door smelling like ice and sweat. 

He didn’t notice me at first, so naturally, I had to greet the human. He sat on the floor with me and called me a funny word - Vic-something, I think it was. I felt his small, warm hands gather my fur and then release them to stroke me from my head all the way to my tail. He was a pro at giving the pets and kept doing them until his Papa-human told him about My Victor. Then he stopped and got really white and nervous and ran outside to the water. Looking back on it, the noise he made when he met My Victor was the start of something beautiful.

My Victor spent the whole warm season with My Yuuri. That’s what My Victor called him, “My Yuuri.” They spent a lot of time at the castle - imagine, My Victor finding another prince all the way across the ocean - and I got to spend time with them, or with The Mari-neechan or The AxelLutzandLoop, running and playing and getting groomed. Sometimes, My Victor and My Yuuri would not go to the castle, and we’d nap together or go swimming on the beach. Those days were so special to me. I could see My Victor again, with his heart-shapes and shining eyes and rosy smell. I even saw changes in My Yuuri, His big brown eyes would light up when he saw My Victor, and when he talked, he could get his thoughts out in one try. I was so proud the day they sat together on the beach and touched their not-paws together, sitting close.

It got colder, and My Victor and My Yuuri packed their bags and left me with The Mari-neechan. I was very confused. We were already on A Trip; why did they have to go someplace else? When they came back - just like I knew they would! - My Yuuri was the one wearing a shiny circle on a ribbon. He smiled to himself and put it away in a box under his bed, and he told me not to tell. I told him I understood, and he made the good girl noises at me. They left again a few sleeps later, and when they came back, My Yuuri had another shiny circle, but that wasn’t surprising. The surprise was that My Victor and My Yuuri were together all the time now. Gone were the hesitant touches and the secret smiles and the soft pining. The humans finally made it known that they had love between them. They were so happy, and it made me happy. Happy and safe and loved, just like Mama said.

I missed them so much the next time they left, I went into the room with the family and sat and waited with the picture of My Yuuri with His Vicchan. I could tell from his face that The Vicchan had not had an easy job making My Yuuri feel happy and safe and loved. The Vicchan told me that My Yuuri couldn’t see it sometimes. He didn’t see how much love surrounded him, and couldn’t feel how much love he put out into the world, how it affected those around him. I promised The Vicchan that I would make His Yuuri see it all, and he thanked me by offering me one of his steamed buns. Of course, I couldn’t be rude, so I ate them, but I felt strange after. Not right. My belly ached and I felt sleepy, stumbled into the walls. The Mari-neechan noticed right away and took me to the doctors. I spent the night throwing up surrounded by strangers, wishing for My Victor to rescue me and hold me. I fell asleep crying for him. 

Eventually he did show up, and the doctors ratted me out for being a polite doggo. He cried happy tears into my fur, though, and he took me straight to the metal tubes to find My Yuuri. They were so happy to see each other again and cried even more happy tears while they held each other and I had to remind them that they had plenty of time to hold each other at home. My Yuuri didn’t come home with a medal that time, but he said those “Grand Prix Final” words again, so I knew he would leave again soon. We had to make him feel extra loved before he left with My Victor.

The two of them left me with The Mari-neechan again and when they came back this time, not only did My Yuuri have a shiny circle, but he and My Victor wore tiny matching collars on their fingers. They had finally claimed each other. My humans finally found the love that they thought had evaded them for so long. They smelled like sunshine and moonlight and roses and cedar and vanilla and cherry blossoms. My Victor let more of those heart-shapes out for people to see. Happy, Safe, Loved.

We were a family after that. My Yuuri followed us home to The Russia Place and made himself part of our lives permanently. He and My Victor danced on the knife shoes at the palace together, and they took turns bringing home shiny circles. We played in our park and we ran around the city and we cuddled on the sofa. We had more humans and dogs and cats over and the house was filled with more smiling and laughing and bricks filled with pictures. We had adventures and took Trips together and I even got to steal some of the yummy food from their plates. They used the naughty “don’t do that” noises but always snuck me another bite or two under the table. 

Sometimes, when it was quiet and just the three of us, My Victor and My Yuuri would whisper something to each other. I could never make out the words, but it always made them both turn pink, which was very funny to see. It still makes them very happy to make the other turn pink, especially My Victor. (He says it’s a game, but I think he just likes to hear those noises.) Strangely, sometimes those whisper-words would make them touch each other, like they were trying to steal food out of each other’s mouths. I let them be, because they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they seemed to enjoy it. When they were really happy they’d lock themselves in the bedroom and practice for hours. I could always tell because I could hear sighing and My Yuuri and My Victor saying each other’s names. Silly humans have the worst memories...or they really like each other’s names. Whichever it was, they were always really happy when they unlocked the door and let me in for bedtime cuddles.

It’s been so many warm and cold seasons. I’m older now. My Victor says my brown fur is grayer than it used to be. As much as I want to, I don’t run anymore, and it takes more effort to get up every morning. I can’t eat from human plates anymore - the rich food makes me sick. I spend more time napping in the sun than wrestling with My humans, but I still love them more than anything.

I don’t know how much time I have left to spend with My Victor and My Yuuri.They still wear their knife shoes and come home smelling like ice and fresh flowers and vanilla and sunshine. They still both take me for lots of walks, and they give me the best treats and lots of pets and they make the good girl noises into my fur. They make me feel safe.

But I am tired. And the last time My Victor took me to the doctor, neither of them smiled. They gripped my fur and buried their faces in it, trying to hide their sad sounds. My Victor cried into my fur, like so many other times, but this time, his sadness was my fault. I tried to boof at him, to tell him I’m still here, I’m still your Makka girl, but he wasn’t in any state to listen. My Yuuri took over talking to the doctor because My Victor couldn’t. He’s very brave, My Yuuri. He doesn’t think he is, but he’s wrong. He’s brave and kind and strong. He’s wonderful for My Victor, who is creative and tender and sometimes unsure. Those humans really deserve each other.

I don’t care how much longer I have with my family. If it’s two hours or two days or two weeks, I will be grateful. I know that when I am gone, they will feel safe in each other's arms, even if I cannot lay with them. And they will feel happy when they look at old pictures of us together on their bricks, running on the beach or sitting pretty at their bonding ceremony. They will feel love in every place we made memories together, our family.

Mama used to say that if we did a really good job for our humans, then the universe would let us come back and find them again. I hope that’s true. I hope I did a good job - because I did the best I could - and I will get to find My Victor and My Yuuri again. I hope I will get to talk to them in their language and hear their stories and dance with them on their knife shoes and watch them fall in love over and over again. But even if i don’t come back, even if I have to wait a thousand years to find them, I will always love them, My Victor and My Yuuri. 

I can hear them calling me for a walk, and I want to go with them. I want as many walks with them as possible before I have to go. But I am just so tired. I haven’t had any appetite to eat these past few days, and it’s left me weak. My Yuuri helps me to drink from something that pushes fresh water into my mouth. My Victor spends a lot of time curling his hands into my fur and letting a few tears fall when he thinks I’m not looking. I think they know as well as I do what’s coming. 

One more walk with my humans. I will make it one more walk with my humans, and then I think I will lay with them and let them hold me. It makes them happy to hold me, even if I fall asleep on them. It makes all of us feel safe being together. I can feel how they cling to each other and try to draw strength from each other’s embrace. 

I am so happy that I got to spend my life with My Victor and My Yuuri. 

I hope I was a good girl.

Happy.

Safe.

Loved.

***   
  


“She was our very good girl, Victor.”

Victor patted the small mound of earth back into place, covering Makkachin’s ashes and finally laying her to rest on the Hasetsu beach. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving a streak of brown behind. When he stood up, Yuuri was quick to take his hand and kiss his cheek, holding back tears. Victor pulled Yuuri tightly into his arms and smiled through his own tears falling freely from his bright blue eyes.

“No,” he whispered and gave the mound one more long look. “Makkachin was  _ the best girl _ .”


End file.
